Bloomberg to spend $100 million to help Biden win Florida
13 September 2020
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg plans to spend at least $100 million to help Joe Biden win Florida in November's election, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Taking Florida would be a knockout blow for Biden, who could then win the election outright simply by retaining all the states that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. He would not have to defeat President Trump in swing states Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina or Arizona, per the Post.
The big picture: Cook Political Report on Thursday shifted its prediction for Florida from "leans Democratic" to "toss up," after a number of polls showed the race tightening. Some Biden advisers have expressed concern about his soft support among Hispanic voters, who make up more than 20% of the electorate in Florida.
What they're saying: "Voting starts on Sept. 24 in Florida so the need to inject real capital in that state quickly is an urgent need,” Bloomberg adviser Kevin Sheekey told the Post. "Mike believes that by investing in Florida it will allow campaign resources and other Democratic resources to be used in other states, in particular the state of Pennsylvania."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.